ISLAMABAD: Ex-Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan has demanded an official apology from the Government of Pakistan to the people of Bangladesh for the atrocities allegedly committed by the Pakistan Army in 1971. Imran Khan stunned everyone during a live television show hosted by Hamid Mir on Geo News and Geo Super TV channels on Wednesday afternoon just a few moments before the start of a cricket match between Pakistan and West Indies in Mirpur, Bangladesh. Hamid Mir invited Imran Khan in his live TV show on March 23, which was Pakistan Day. He asked a question to Imran Khan about the expected behaviour of Bangladeshi crowd in Mirpur. Imran Khan said that Bangladeshis will support the Pakistani cricket team. Hamid Mir informed Imran Khan that today (March 23) is Pakistan Day and Bangladeshis will support Pakistani cricket team “Don’t you think that the time has come that the Pakistani government must apologise to the people of Bangladesh for Army operation in 1971”? Imran Khan immediately agreed with Hamid Mir and said that previously he was also of the opinion that Army operation was a good thing because there was no independent media in Pakistan in 1971. Imran Khan said that when he went to England in 1971, his Bengali friends told him the reality of the Army operation. Imran Khan said that he experienced the love and affection of Bangladeshis during an exhibition match in Mirpur in 1989. He said that the Army operations always created hatred in Pakistan and we must apologise to Bangladeshis. Responding another question, Imran Khan said “we must learn lessons from our past mistakes and we should not repeat these mistakes in Balochistan and tribal areas where we have started Army operations on the US pressure”. Cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan is the first ever Pakistani dignitary who has demanded an apology from Pakistan to Bangladesh on a live TV show in Pakistan.
